Miami center Brimah commits to UConn

Kevin Duffy

Updated 12:30 am, Tuesday, January 15, 2013

It took one full day at UConn to sell Amdia Brimah, the wiry 6-foot-11 center with a 7-foot-6 wingspan.

A standout at Archbishop Carroll High in Miami, Brimah ended his recruitment while an official visit Monday morning when he pledged to become the third member of UConn's 2013 class, joining Kentan Facey and Terrence Samuel.

The verbal commitment, first reported by Joey Natale of Coast2CoastHoops.com, gives UConn another body up front next season. The frontcourt nucleus of Tyler Olander, DeAndre Daniels, Enosch Wolf and Phil Nolan should return. Now Facey and Brimah -- both big-time shot-blockers -- are in the mix.

"He's going to improve tremendously on the offensive end, but defensively, he's ready to play college right now," said Briham's high school coach, Juan Hernandez. --¦By the third quarter (of high school games), guys just don't want to drive in anymore."

"He was a good shot-blocker when he got here and he's gotten even better," Hernandez said. "He's understanding when to go after blocks. He used to go after everything. Sometimes he got them, sometimes he fouled. Now he's doing a much better job of timing things, staying on the ground and getting the ball at the height."

Brimah, a native of Ghana, has been in the United States for three years. It's his first season at Archbishop Carroll, and Hernandez has noticed a steady improvement since his arrival.

"He's continuing to pick up the game, like little things that are second knowledge to some guys, but they're new to him," Hernandez said. "He works extremely, extremely hard. He's a great teammate. He's always positive and encouraging when he's on the bench, and that's one thing the (UConn) coaches always told me about him."

Aside from UConn, Brimah had scholarship offers from South Carolina, LaSalle and Florida International. He had also received recent interest from Villanova and St. Louis, Hernandez said.

Brimah, who recently posted 28 points and 22 boards in a single game, is not listed in the Rivals150 or Scout100. He's the first recruit to commit since coach Kevin Ollie's five-year contract extension was announced on Dec. 29.